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Everyman Theatre reopens in long-abandoned site

The Everyman Theatre officially opened in its new home Monday in a long-abandoned historic theater on Baltimore's west side.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and other city officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday morning, which was cheered on by a large crowd. The theater will celebrate with a week of festivities, including a grand opening gala on Saturday night.

The Everyman's newly renovated home is a theater on West Fayette Street near the Hippodrome in what's known as the Bromo Tower Arts and Entertainment District. The area is helping revitalize west Baltimore.

"We need anchors like Everyman to continue the momentum of the west side. It makes our neighborhood stronger and more attractive for residents and businesses, and, as you've known or decades, the Everyman has brought regional and national attention to Baltimore's growing theater community," the mayor said.

The new theater originally opened as The Empire in 1910 as a vaudeville house. Later it became a burlesque theater, then was closed for "indecency" of the performances and was converted to a parking garage. Later it became a movie house but fell into disrepair and closed in 1990.

The new theater is the culmination of five years of work that included raising $18 million and making renovations to the theater. With 34,000-square-feet of room, there's enough space for everything they plan to do.

"Before, Everyman had to rent space to do our educational program, to do rehearsals, to do anything outside of the play that was happening because that's all the space that we had. In this building, we have a rehearsal hall. We have two dedicated classrooms, and everything can happen under one roof, which is really special," said theater managing director Ian Tresselt.

Their production of "August: Osage County" begins this week. After the weekend gala, that's when organizers said the real work will begin.

"We really have to put our game face on and really make this a special place, not only for the theater we produce, but as a destination in and of itself," Tresselt said.

Bank of America and the Harold A. Dawson Trust donated the theater to the Everyman in 2006.

In photos: Everyman Theatre reopens at new location

In photos: Everyman Theatre reopens at new location

The Everyman Theatre officially opens in its new home in a long-abandoned historic theater on Baltimore's west side.

The newly renovated Everyman Theatre reopens in its new home , an old theater on Baltimore's West Fayette Street.

City leaders hold a ribbon-cutting for the event.

The new theater originally opened as The Empire in 1910 as a vaudeville house. Later it became a burlesque theater, then was closed for "indecency" of the performances and was converted to a parking garage.

Later, the theater became a movie house but fell into disrepair and closed in 1990.

Bank of America and the Harold A. Dawson Trust donated the theater to the Everyman in 2006.

The new set inside the theater.

Copyright 2013 by WBALTV.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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